Jan Elizabeth Watson's "What Has Become of You"

Jan Elizabeth Watson was raised in Maine, where she currently lives, writes, and teaches and which also serves as the backdrop for her novels Asta in the Wings (Tin House Books) and What Has Become of You (Dutton). Her third novel-in-progress is set partly in Maine and partly in Ireland.

Here Watson dreamcasts an adaptation of What Has Become of You:

When I was writing What Has Become of You, I thought of Helena Bonham Carter, circa 1995-ish, in the role of petite, dark-haired, round-faced Vera Lundy. She has that interesting combination of elegance and slovenliness that I thought was right for the character. My friend Donald Hallene III, a young filmmaker whom you’ll probably all be hearing of someday, recommends Melanie Lynskey for the part, which I think is a wonderful choice; she was in one of my all-time favorite movies, Heavenly Creatures, when she was quite young and has gone on to do a lot of good independent work since. For the smaller role of Detective Ferreira, I would like to cast character actor Leland Orser, who played a variety of skittish, neurotic roles in the late 90s/early 2000s but proved himself capable of ‘manly’ roles with his work in Taken. For the pivotal role of Jensen Willard, who is only fifteen, I would probably seek out a talented unknown.

Learn more about the book and author at Jan Elizabeth Watson's website.

The Page 69 Test: What Has Become of You.

Writers Read: Jan Elizabeth Watson.

--Marshal Zeringue